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Giro feature, May 13, 2008

Giro d'Italia classifications demystified

Most seasoned cycling fans have a grasp on the major Tour de France competitions,
but the classifications of the Giro d'Italia can leave even the most veteran
commentators scratching their heads. With a dozen separate classifications,
it's easy to get confused. Cyclingnews' Laura Weislo explains how each competition works and more!

To wear any special jersey in the Giro d'Italia is a great honour - one which all riders dream of gaining. If a rider takes the lead in one of the jersey classifications, they get to stand proudly on the podium, get flowers and trophies as well as kisses from the podium girls after the stage. But more importantly the riders who lead either the overall classification or points, mountains or best young rider competition at the end of the stage get to wear a distinctively coloured tunics on the next stage as they defend their position.

How exactly the jerseys are awarded can be a bit mystifying at times, especially when there is a tie, but your friends at Cyclingnews are here to decipher the regulations and give some insight as to why the riders battle so hard for each sprint and mountain.

It turns out that the overall winner takes home more in accolades than he does
in cash: 'only' € 90,000 goes to the man on the top step in Milan, compared
to the € 450,000 on offer to the Tour de France champion. However, most
of the competitions come with daily prizes as well as a bonus for winning the
final classification – so in order to cha-ching that cash register, a
rider needs to win a few stages along the way, too.

About two-thirds of the total prize purse comes in daily stage prizes - over half a million euros! Cash primes are awarded at each intermediate sprint, mountain sprint, and for stage finishes down to 20th place - starting at €11,000. The overall leader gets € 1,000 per day for the pink jersey, the other three jerseys are awarded € 500 per day, and there is money for the most combative rider, the 'breakaway' rider as well as two team prizes each and every day.

So the fight isn't just for the overall win in Milano - it's a daily battle to bring home the bacon and to make the sponsors happy for all the special attention.

Maglia Rosa (Overall Jersey)

Maglia Rosa is the most sought after jersey in the Giro d'Italia. Signifying
the leader in the general classification, the shirt inspires even the most manly
of men to want to wear pink. But why pink? The jersey colour is the signature
shade of the sponsoring newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, whose pages
are printed on pink paper.

The jersey is awarded after each stage to the rider with lowest cumulative
time. If the top riders are tied exactly on time (for instance, in the team
time trial), then the jersey is decided by the riders' position in the stage
finish. Should riders be tied on time on the final stage (highly unlikely!),
the GC will be determined by the fractions of seconds in the individual time
trials. If it is still a tie, the lowest sum of stage finishes throughout the
Giro will break the time, and should that fail, the position on the final stage
will be the definitive factor.

If a rider holds the lead in another classification other than the overall, he must wear the pink jersey. His other jersey will go to the second placed rider in that classification.

Maglia Ciclamino (Sprinter's Jersey)

The Maglia Ciclamino derives its name from the Cyclamen flower, which
has a purple color. Similar to the Tour de France green jersey, the Maglia
Ciclamino is the domain of the sprinters, and is determined by points earned
on the finishing line of each day's stage. The rider with the most consistent
finishes throughout the race is awarded with the final purple jersey.

The classification is determined by stage finishes which are scored 25 for
first, 20 for second, and then 18, 14, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.
The points for the Expo Milano 2015 sprints also factor into this competition
down to six places at 8 points for first, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for second through
sixth.

The Maglia Ciclamino doesn't always go to the pure sprinters, however,
and because the points are the same for mountain top finishes and flat stages
alike, the parcours can determine who takes the final prize home.

In case of a tie on points after a stage, the number of stage wins determines who will wear the jersey. If riders are still tied, then the rider with the most wins in intermediate sprints will take the jersey. If riders are tied at the end of the Giro on points, the rider with the lowest accumulated time will win the jersey.

Maglia Verde (Climber's Jersey)

Unlike the Tour de France, the climber's jersey in the Tour of Italy doesn't
have any of those gaudy polka dots. Instead, it's a subdued green, like the
verdant hills of Tuscany or the forested Dolomiti. The climber's jersey is determined
by points accumulated at the top of each classified climb along the route.

Bigger mountains earn a rider more points, and the rider having the most accumulated
points is awarded the jersey at the end of each stage. Category 3 climbs have
three places (3, 2, 1), category 2 also have three (5, 3, 1), category 1 have
five scoring places (10, 6, 4, 2, 1) and finally the highest point in the Giro, or 'Cima Coppi'
(this year the Passo di Gavia) has six places (20, 15, 12, 10, 6, 4 and
2 points). Mountain top finishes are awarded 15, 10, 6, 4 and 2 points.

In the event of a tie, the jersey is given to the rider with the most wins on category 1 climbs. If still tied, then it goes down to wins on category 2, then category 3.

This year there is one Cima Coppi, four mountain top finishes, nine category
one, eight category two and 10 category three climbs.

Maglia Bianca (Young rider's jersey)

This is the one competition where the Tour and the Giro share the same color
for the same classification. The white jersey, or Maglia Bianca, is given
to the rider under the age of 25 who is highest in the overall classification
at the end of each stage. Riders born after January 1, 1983 are eligible for
this competition.

Last won Andy Schleck in 2007 when the white jersey was re-introduced
after a 12 year hiatus.

Expo Milano 2015

Once upon a time there was a jersey competition called the Intergiro classification.
It had a blue jersey, and nobody outside of the race jury could figure out exactly
how it was awarded. After 18 years of baffling the public, the Giro d'Italia
organisers have simplified the intermediate sprint competition. Last year the competition was named in honour of
the 200th anniversary of Guiseppe Garibaldi's birth. This year's is called 'Expo Milano 2015' after the next World's Fair which was awarded to the Italian city over Izmir, Turkey.

Each stage (except the time trials) has one intermediate sprint for this competition,
and the first five across the line receive points - 5,4,3,2,1. The rider with
the most accumulated points at the end of the Giro d'Italia will take home the
prize, but no jersey is awarded for the competition this year.

The Expo Milano 2015 sprint also qualifies toward the overall points classification,
or the ciclamino jersey, and is awarded with points down to six places at 8,6,4,3,2,1
points.

Furthermore, these intermediate sprints count towards the 'most combative'
competition, so the sprints are very valuable to the riders!

Most combative

The Most Combative classification is not like its counterpart in the Tour
de France, for example, where riders are awarded points for breaking away and
being aggressive during the stage. Instead, it's more like a combination classification,
where riders score points for stage finishes, Intergiro sprints, and climbs.

The first six across the finish line receive points (6,5,4,3,2,1) and the
first five in the Expo Milano 2015 receive points (5,4,3,2,1) as well as the top
finishers on each classified mountain, depending on the category of the hill.
Category 3's rate only two places (2, 1) category 2's get three, (3,2,1) and
category 1 and Cima Coppi climbs rate four places (4,3,2,1).

Trofeo Fuga Cervelo

The Trofeo Fuga Cervelo is more like the traditional Most Combative prize.
Riders score points by getting in breakaways (minimum distance: five kilometres,
maximum size of the group: 10 men). The longer the breakaway, the more points
are scored, one for each kilometre in the break.

Azzurri d'Italia

The Azzurri d'Italia classification is similar to the points classification,
except that it only awards points for the top three stage finishers (4, 2 and
1 point). The only cash prize is the leader at the end of the final stage in Milan, who gets a cool € 5,000.

Trofeo Fast Team and Super Team

The Trofeo Fast Team stage classification is calculated by adding the times of the three best placed rider from each team, except for the team time trial, which is simply the final finishing time of the team including any time penalties. Tie breakers on the general classification are determined by how high the team has placed on each previous stage. If the team drops below three riders remaining in the race, they will be eliminated from the team rankings altogether.

Super Team is a little different to the timed team classification,
in that it awards points to teams for placing a rider in the top 20 in the stage:
20 for first, 19 for second and so on down to 1 point for 20th.

Maglia Nera

The dubious honour of being tagged as last rider on GC returns
to the Giro d'Italia this year. The last time the Maglia Nera was given
in 1951, riders received a black woolen jersey. Since the UCI has limited the
number of jersey competitions to four, all they get this year is their backnumber
and bike number on a black background and some good-hearted ribbing from their
fellow competitors.

The last rider on GC, Numero Nero, is not to be looked down upon, no!
This man is a true survivor who slaves for his team and then suffers through
all the levels of hell to claw his way to the finish of the stage. Frequently
overcoming illness and crashes - these proud, brave soldiers are gluttons for
punishment and deserve to be recognized. But, they don't get anything except
the black number to take home as there is no monetary award for last rider in
Milan.

Fair Play

Finally, there is the Fair Play classification for teams. This is one where
the more points the team has, the lower they are on the classification. It is
scored using six criteria: A warning earns 0.50 points; a fine is worth one
point for every 10 Swiss francs; a time penalty is worth two points per second;
a declassification is worth 100 points; a disqualification/explusion is worth
1000 points; and a positive doping control is worth 2000 points. Penalties can
be as mild as a warning for hanging onto the team car, a penalty for drafting
on the cars, relegation for 'irregular sprinting' or as severe as expulsion
for punching a spectator.

Time cuts

Because stages have varying degrees of difficulty, the fair and resonable Giro d'Italia organisation has based the cuts on the overall average speed of the stage as well as the type of parcours. The stages were divided into five categories: